Culture of Cornwall

The culture of Cornwall (Cornish: Gonisogeth Kernow) forms part of the culture of the United Kingdom, but has distinct customs, traditions and peculiarities. Cornwall has many strong local traditions. After many years of decline, Cornish culture has undergone a strong revival, and many groups exist to promote Cornwall's culture and language today.

Entrance at Truro Cathedral has welcome sign in several languages, including Cornish

Boscawen-Un stone circle looking north

Ruin of Cornish tin mine

Language

The Cornish language is a Celtic language closely related to Breton and slightly less so to Welsh. All of these are directly descended from the British language formerly spoken throughout most of Britain. The language went into decline following the introduction of the English Book of Common Prayer (in 1549) and by the turn of the 19th century had ceased to be used as a community language, (see main article for further discussion.)

During the 19th century researchers began to study the language from any remaining isolated speakers and in 1904 Henry Jenner published A Handbook in the Cornish Language which started the revival proper. Although less than 1% of Cornwall's population speak the language and 'mother tongue' speakers are in their hundreds rather than thousands, the language continues to play a significant part in the culture of Cornwall.

Some events will use Cornish, in short phrases, openings, greetings or names. There is a healthy tradition of music in the language, which can also be enjoyed by non-speakers. The vast majority of place names in Cornwall are derived from the language, and many people who live in Cornwall know a few words or phrases, e.g. 'Kernow bys vyken!' ('Cornwall forever!). Many Cornish houses, businesses, children, pets and boats[1] are named in the language, thus it has use as an "official community language" and any Cornish speaker will often be asked to provide translations. A sign of this role is that two of Cornwall's five MPs (now six) once swore their oaths to the Queen in Cornish.

Due to language erosion and possible suppression caused by the dominant English language and culture in the later medieval period, many works of Cornish language are thought to have been lost, particularly at the time of the dissolution of the religious houses of (Glasney College and Crantock College for example), which were regarded as repertories of 'Welsh' (i.e., foreign) conservatism by the English. Cornish grievances against the policies of the English government led to the unsuccessful uprisings of the Cornish Rebellion of 1497 and the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549.

By the Shakespearean period, these ancient texts still maintained a currency demonstrated by King Lear based on the ancient tale of Leir of Britain which names Corineus the eponymous founder of the Cornish nation; he traditionally wrestled the giant Goemagot into the sea at Plymouth Hoe and claimed the land beyond for his people; the probable origin of the tale of Jack the Giant Killer.[2]

The earliest Cornish literature is in the Cornish language and Cornwall produced a substantial number of passion plays during the Middle Ages. Many are still extant, and provide valuable information about the language: they were performed in round 'plen a gwary' (place for playing) open-air theatres.

There is much traditional folklore in Cornwall, often tales of giants, mermaids, piskies or the 'pobel vean' (little people.) These are still surprisingly popular today, with many events hosting a 'droll teller' to tell the stories: such myths and stories have found much publishing success, particularly in children's books.

Writing in the Cornish dialect has generally been overshadowed by the Cornish language. However, from the 19th century onwards poems and short stories have been published, often with a typically Cornish humour. Some Cornish newspapers have featured a column written in Cornish dialect. e.g. The Cornish & Devon Post. Then there are literary works in standard English including conversations between dialect speakers.

Cornish World, a colour magazine produced in Cornwall and covering all aspects of Cornish life has proved popular with the descendants of Cornish emigrants as well as Cornish residents. It includes a column in the Cornish language.

Poetry written about Cornwall

The poet Laurence Binyon wrote For the Fallen (first published in 1914) while sitting on the cliffs between Pentire Point and The Rumps and a stone plaque was erected in 2001 to commemorate the fact. The plaque bears the inscription For The Fallen Composed on these cliffs 1914 The plaque also bears the fourth stanza (sometimes referred to as 'The Ode') of the poem.

Cornwall is featured heavily in the beginning of The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley as the home of Igraine, wife of Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall. The castle at Tintagel has been said to be where King Arthur was conceived (when Uther Pendragon entered the castle in the form of Gorlois).

Agatha Christie's "Poirot" short story, "The Cornish Adventure" take place in Polgarwith, an (imaginary) small market town in Cornwall.[15]

Traditionally, the Cornish have been non-conformists in religion. In 1549, the Prayer Book Rebellion caused the deaths of thousands of people from Devon and Cornwall. The Methodism of John Wesley also proved to be very popular with the working classes in Cornwall in the 18th century. Methodist chapels became important social centres, with male voice choirs and other church-affiliated groups playing a central role in the social lives of working-class Cornishmen. Methodism still plays a large part in the religious life of Cornwall today, although Cornwall has shared in the post-World War II decline in British religious feeling.

In contrast to the situation in Wales, the churches failed to produce a translation of the Bible into the local language, and this has been seen by some as a crucial factor in the demise of the language.
The Bible was translated into Cornish in 2002.

Recent developments

Renewed interest in Celtic Christianity

In the late 20th century and early 21st century there has been a renewed interest in the older forms of Christianity in Cornwall. Cowethas Peran Sans, the Fellowship of St Piran, is one such group promoting Celtic Christianity.[18] The group was founded by Andrew Phillips and membership is open to baptised Christians in good standing in their local community who support the aims of the group.

The chough (in Cornish = palores) is also used as a symbol of Cornwall. In Cornish poetry the chough is used to symbolise the spirit of Cornwall. Also there is a Cornish belief that King Arthur lives in the form of a chough. "Chough" was also used as a nickname for Cornish people.

Another animal with a deep association with Cornwall is the “White Horse of Lyonesse”. Arthurian legends tell of a rider escaping on a white horse as the land sunk beneath the waves, surviving and settling in Cornwall.

Fish, tin and copper together are used symbolically as they show the 'traditional' three main industries of Cornwall. Tin has a special place in the Cornish culture, the 'Stannary Parliament' and 'Cornish pennies' are a testament to the former power of the Cornish tin industry. Cornish tin is highly prized for jewellery, often of mine engines or Celtic designs.

Although Cornwall has no official flower many people favour the Cornish heath (Erica vagans). In recent years daffodils have been popular on the annual Saint Piran's day march on Perran Sands although they are donated by a local daffodil grower and it is already considered to be the national flower of Wales.

The historian Philip Payton, professor at Exeter University's department of Cornish studies, has written Cornwall: a History as well as editing the Cornish studies series. Mark Stoyle, Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of Southampton, asks 'Are the Cornish English?’ in his book West Britons, a work on Cornish history exploring the nature of Cornishness in the early modern period. John Angarrack of the human rights organisation Cornwall 2000 has self-published two books to date, Breaking the Chains and Our Future is History: both are polemical re-examinations of Cornish history and identity, not historical works.

Cornish art

The 9th-century Men Myghtern Doniert (King Doniert's Stone) commemorating the last independent King of Cornwall

Three Holes Cross

So-called 'Celtic art' is found in Cornwall reflecting its ancient Brythonic heritage, often in the form of Celtic crosses erected from the 10th century onwards. Many placenames are formed with the element Lan of early Cornish saints from Wales, Ireland, and Brittany. The activities of these saints resulted in a shared cultural inheritance which particularly includes the post-Roman corpus of literature relating to King Arthur and Tristan and Iseult, presumed nobility of ancient Dumnonia. Cornwall boasts the highest density of traditional 'Celtic crosses' of any nation, and medieval holy wells are particularly prevalent. The destruction of monastic institutions such as Glasney College and Crantock during the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536–45) is often regarded as the death knell of independence in Cornish language and culture; the very few remaining Cornish language manuscripts, including the miracle playsBeunans Ke and Beunans Meriasek are thought to have originated at these ancient centres of academic excellence. After the First World War, many crosses were erected as war memorials and also to celebrate events such as the millennium.

Cornwall and its dramatic landscape and distinctive remoteness have produced and inspired many later artists. John Opie was the first Cornish-born artist of note and J. M. W. Turner visited in 1811. A number of London artists settled in the Newlyn area in the 1880s, following the building of the Great Western Railway, who went on to form the Newlyn School.

Sickert and Whistler both visited St Ives at the end of the 19th century, and the internationally famous studio potter, Bernard Leach set up his pottery in the town in 1920 St. Ives. In 1928 Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood visited the town and met Alfred Wallis the naive painter, native to St Ives, who was to become an important influence on a generation of British artists: particularly those who were members of the Seven and Five Society.

Architecture

Lime-washed and slate-hung domestic vernacular architecture of various periods, Polperro

Cornish vernacular architecture is characterised by its use of abundant natural stone, especially Cornubian granite, slate, and local white lime-washing and its plain unadorned simplicity, sharing cultural and stylistic similarities, with the architecture of Atlantic Brittany, Ireland and Wales, as well as neighbouring Devon. The architecture of west Cornish towns such as St Ives is particularly distinctive for its use of solid granite and featuring also the type of early promontoryhermitage particularly associated with Celtic Christianity.

Early and continuous use of stone architecture over more than two thousand years, begins with the Romano-British enclosed courtyard houses at Carn Euny and Chysauster is regionally distinct from the largely rectangular timber-derived architecture of Saxon England and often features characteristically rounded or circular forms[20] - such as the ringforts, roundhouses and enclosed settlements known locally as "rounds" - the influence of which can be detected up to the building of Launceston Castle and Restormel Castle in the later medieval.

Church of St Morwenna, Morwenstow

The medieval longhouse was the typical form of housing in early Cornish 'Tre' dispersed settlements of small hamlets of farmsteads and associated field systems apparently originating from before the time of the Norman conquest.[21][22] The longhouse form is notable for its combined accommodation of humans and precious livestock under a single roof in a form found distributed across northwestern Atlantic Europe; France (Longere) Brittany (Ty Hir), Normandy, Devon and South Wales (Ty Hir) .

The font of St Nonna's church, Altarnun

Ecclesiastical architecture of Cornwall and Devon typically differs from that of the rest of southern England: most medieval churches in the larger parishes were rebuilt in the later medieval period with one or two aisles and a western tower, the aisles being the same width as the nave and the piers of the arcades being of one of a few standard types; the former monastery church at St Germans demonstrates these features over several periods as the former seat of the bishop of Cornwall. Wagon roofs often survive in these churches. The typical tower is of three stages, often with buttresses set back from the angles.[23]

Churches of the Decorated period are relatively rare, as are those with spires. There are very few churches from the 17th and 18th centuries. There is a distinctive type of Norman font in many Cornish churches which is sometimes called the Altarnun type. The style of carving in benchends is also recognisably Cornish.[24]

Music

Lanner Band Room

Cornwall has a rich and vibrant folk music tradition which has survived into the present.

Cornish players are regular participants in inter-Celtic festivals, and Cornwall itself has several lively inter-Celtic festivals such as Perranporth's folk festival, Lowender Peran.[25]

Cornish Celtic music is a relatively large phenomenon given the size of the region. A recent tally found over 100 bands playing mostly or entirely Cornish folk music. Traditional dancing (Cornish dance) is associated with the music. These dance events are either Troyls, (a dance night more similar to a ceilidh) or Nozow looan, (a dance night more similar to a BretonFest Noz).

Aphex Twin is a Cornish-based electronic music artist, though he was born of Welsh parents in Ireland. Many other pop musicians are based in Cornwall but many of them originate elsewhere.

Festivals

Celebrating Saint Piran's Day

There is a long tradition of processional dance and music in Cornwall. The best known tradition is the Helston Furry. The term 'furry' is used generally to describe such a dance or associated tune. These bands have been referred to as 'crowders and horners' and generally have a motley mix of instruments with folk instruments such as the fiddle, bagpipe or crowdy crawn mixed up with brass, reed and anything that can be carried.

Golowan festival in Penzance, which was revived in 1991, was part of a much wider tradition of midsummer festivals where bonfires were lit on hilltops on Midsummer's Eve. The tradition of midsummer bonfires continues, albeit to a lesser extent than when fires could be seen on every hilltop, throughout Cornwall.

Lowender Perran is held at the end of October in Perranporth. This is a gathering of musicians and dancers from the six Celtic nations.

A Cornish pasty, known traditionally as an oggy, can be found all over the world

Historically Cornwall has had close links with Brittany and this is reflected in the music. The Cornish and Breton languages were mutually intelligible until Tudor times and there were many Bretons living in Cornwall before the Prayer Book Rebellion. Myths, saints, dances and tunes are often shared with Brittany. It has been noted that The Kroaz Du (Black Cross) flag used in medieval Brittany is the exact inverse of the Cornish flag, whether there is a reason for this is unknown. Breton flags are popular in Cornwall and are often seen alongside the Cornish flag on car bumpers and at musical events. This link continues today with Cornish-Breton festivals such as 'AberFest' in Falmouth (Aberfal) and the twinning of Cornish and Breton towns.

Cornish film

Cornwall has a small but growing film industry, mostly focusing on the Cornish language and culture. Numerous films, short and long, have been made in Cornwall. The Cornish film industry is supported by organisations such as War-rag (War-rag meaning "ahead" in Cornish).

Goel Fylm Kernow also hosts workshops, screenings and the "Govynn Kernewek" competition. In this competition applicants can present their ideas for films to be made in the Cornish language. The prizes in the competition consist of financial, material and technical support for making the film. Films made following this award include "Kernow's Kick Ass Kung-Fu Kweens" (2004), a kung fu film in Cornish.[28]

The only known feature-length film in the Cornish language is Hwerow Hweg (Bitter Sweet), which was filmed alongside an English version.[29][30] However, although it did not become as popular as was hoped, it was nominated for Best Feature Length Film at the 2002 Celtic Film and Television Festival.[31] There are a number of short films which have been made in the language.[32][33]

Food

Stargazy pie, with sardines looking skywards before it is baked in the oven

Cornish clotted cream is a popular topping on splits and on scones. Opinion varies as to whether or not the cream should be spread on before or after the jam. Clotted cream is often served as thunder and lightning (with syrup on bread.)

There are also many types of beers brewed in Cornwall including a stout and there is some small scale production of cider and wine.

Sports and games

Outdoor sports and games

Indoor games

Euchre is a popularcard game in Cornwall, it is normally a game for four players consisting of two teams. Its origins are unclear but some claim it is a Cornish game, and was popularised in part by Cornish immigrants to the United States. There are several leagues in Cornwall at present. Whist and pub quizzes are also popular in many villages.

Traditional dress

Cornwall's national tartan, bracca

Bal maidens at work, showing traditional dress

The "traditional dress" of Cornwall for women is a Bal Maiden's or fishwife's costume. This includes the wearing of a bonnet known as a "gook" (which were peculiar to a district or community,) aprons and woollen shawls.

For men fishermen's smocks, Guernsey sweaters (known as worsted-frocks in Cornwall) and long cut shirts are worn.[34]

The adoption of the Cornish kilt has recently become popular, and these kilts are available in various Cornish tartans or plain black. The first reference to a "Cornish" kilt is from 1903 when the Cornish delegate to the Celtic Congress, convening at Caernarvon, L. C. R. Duncombe-Jewell, appeared in a woad blue kilt, to impress upon the delegates the Celtic character of Cornwall. Black kilts are proposed by some as the traditional version of the garment, some claiming that the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry wore black kilts on occasions in the 19th century[35] (this may have been similar to the Irish saffron kilt). The most common kilt used in Cornwall is pleated Scottish-style with a leather, Duchy of Cornwall shield-style, sporran.

The Cornish national tartan was designed by E. E Morton Nance in 1963 using colours traditionally associated with Cornwall. Fragments of tartan have been found in Penwith.

Bro Goth agan Tasow ("Old Land of our Fathers") is one of the anthems of Cornwall, UK sung in the Cornish language. It is sung to the same tune as the Welsh national anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. The Breton anthem Bro Gozh ma Zadoù also uses the same tune.The Song of the Western Men, more commonly known as Trelawny, is often considered to be the Cornish anthem as well, and as in Scotland, opinion is divided on the matter, and there is no official position. Trelawny's words are certainly more widely known amongst Cornish people.

The Cornwall Film Festival (Cornish: Gool fylm Kernow) is an annual festival started in 2001 which focuses on Cornish film making, offering local and national premieres, and hosts masterclasses, workshops and discussions for everyone from the enthusiast to the professional.

The festival supports Cornish film making in the Cornish or English and there is a "govynn kernewek" competition in which applicants present their idea for a film in the Cornish language, with the winners receiving financial, material and technical support for the production.

Many film-makers who work solely in English will refer to themselves as Cornish film makers. Their films often make use of Cornish themes, landscape and way of life. Certainly the concept of a Cornish film industry exists, the term 'Oggywood' has been coined (from oggy meaning pasty and Hollywood). Similarly there has been a Young Peoples Festival which runs a day prior to the main festival. This has run for the same amount of time as the main festival.

Crowns were a folk punk band from Launceston, Cornwall, formed in 2010. The band consisted of lead singer and guitarist Bill Jefferson, bass player Jake Butler, mandolinist Jack Speckleton and drummer Rob Ramplin (replaced Nathan Haynes in 2013).

A folk costume (also regional costume, national costume, or traditional garment) expresses an identity through costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indicate social, marital or religious status. If the costume is used to represent the culture or identity of a specific ethnic group, it is usually known as ethnic costume (also ethnic dress, ethnic wear, ethnic clothing, traditional ethnic wear or traditional ethnic garment). Such costumes often come in two forms: one for everyday occasions, the other for traditional festivals and formal wear.

Following the outbreak of romantic nationalism, the peasantry of Europe came to serve as models for all that appeared genuine and desirable. Their dress crystallised into so-called "typical" forms, and enthusiasts adopted that attire as part of their symbolism.

In areas where Western dress codes have become usual, traditional garments are often worn at special events or celebrations; particularly those connected with cultural traditions, heritage or pride. International events may cater for non-Western attendees with a compound dress code such as "business suit or national dress".

In modern times, there are instances where traditional garments are required by sumptuary laws. In Bhutan, the traditional Tibetan-style clothing of gho and kera for men, and kira and toego for women, must be worn by all citizens, including those not of Tibetan heritage. In Saudi Arabia, women are also required to wear the abaya in public.

Garry Harcourt Tregidga is a Cornish academic, director of the Institute of Cornish Studies based at the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall, UK, and editor of the journal Cornish Studies.

He lives at Bugle, near St Austell, and was named as a Bard of the Cornish Gorseth for services to Cornish history, taking the name "Map Rosvean" - "Son of Rosevean".

Tregidga took both his MPhil and PhD degrees with the University of Exeter. In October 1997 he was appointed Assistant Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies. He has published articles on many themes related to Cornwall and is the author of The Liberal Party in South West Britain since 1918: Political Decline, Dormancy and Rebirth (2000), and is a co-author of Mebyon Kernow and Cornish Nationalism (2003).

In 1998 he founded the Cornish History Network, followed in 2000 by the Cornish Audio-Visual Archive (CAVA) which aims to document the oral history and visual culture of Cornwall.

Hail to the Homeland is one of the unofficial anthems of Cornwall, in the south west of the UK. It was composed by the Cornish musician Kenneth Pelmear who composed and arranged many works for church and male voice choirs and brass bands. The words were written by Pearce Gilbert, of Helston, Cornwall.

The Institute of Cornish Studies (ICS) is a research institute in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, affiliated with the University of Exeter. Formerly at Pool, near Redruth, then in Truro, it is now on the Penryn Campus near Penryn, Cornwall.

(The surname is pronounced in one syllable to rhyme with "cairn") Born in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, he was raised in the Chicago area. Early interests in music and theatre led to a desire to become a performer. He learned to play the guitar in his teens, and performed mostly folk music at local venues. He studied theatre at Southern Illinois University, receiving a BS in theatre in 1972. His working career has included many occupations, including stagehand, salesman, meeting coordinator, retailer, and instructor, but his avocation has always been music.

His researches into folk music and family history led him to an interest in things Cornish, and Cornish music in particular. He has since written many songs on Cornish themes, and performs these songs and traditional Cornish material at festivals throughout the USA, and in Cornwall. His interest in Cornwall has led to a sympathy with the movement to establish national status for Cornwall within the United Kingdom. His song This Isn't England includes the lyric "This isn't England, you stupid twit!"

Wearne is notable as one of only two known exclusive proponents/performers of Cornish music in North America (the other being Marion Howard of Wisconsin.) Reviews of his work in publications such as Cornish World and Dirty Linen credit him with bringing the music, people and culture of Cornwall to America, where it is little known.

In spring 2002 at Castel Pendynas, Pendennis, Falmouth in Cornwall, Wearne was made a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedd for services to Cornish Music in America (in Cornish: Rag gonys dhe Ylow Kernewek yn Ameryky) with the bardic name Canor Gwanethtyr - Singer of the Prairie.

The Kernewek Lowender (officially the Kernewek Lowender Copper Coast Cornish Festival) is a Cornish-themed biennial festival held in the Copper Coast towns of Kadina, Moonta and Wallaroo on Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. 'Kernewek Lowender' means 'Cornish happiness' in the Cornish language. It is held in the late autumn starting on the second Monday of May, in odd-numbered years. The Kernewek Lowender claims to be the world’s largest Cornish Festival outside Cornwall.

Kescusulyans Kernow (Conference of Cornwall) was an independent non-political Cornish conference which was held twice yearly at Perranporth, Cornwall, England, UK, between 1987-1994. It was formed to promote research into Cornish current affairs and the culture of Cornwall and was originally started by members of Cowethas Flamank, an organisation founded in 1969. Of special interest to Kescusulyans Kernow was the issue of the Cornish Constitution implicit in the creation of the Duchy of Cornwall.The conference also looked into the need for a Cornish European Parliamentary Constituency. It had a special interest in developing a higher profile on Cornish rights issues and coordination and dissemination of any views which identified infringements of Cornish human rights. One of the founding members of the organisation was John Bolitho, a former Grand Bard of the Cornish Gorsedh and the conference included a range of members from other organisations such as Mebyon Kernow, the Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament, Gorsedh Kernow and Cornish Solidarity. Other aims of the group were to raise awareness of Cornish culture, politics and society, both within Britain and internationally. One example of a working group formed from Kescusulyans Kernow is the Cornish Bureau for European Relations (CoBER), established in 1987.In 1995 some members of Kescusulyans Kernow and Cowethas Flamank joined to form Tyr-Gwyr-Gweryn (meaning 'Land-Truth-People' in the Cornish language).

This is a list of tartans from around the world. The examples shown below are generally emblematic of a particular association. However, for each clan or family, there are often numerous other official or unofficial variations. There are also innumerable tartan designs that are not affiliated with any group, but were simply created for aesthetic reasons.

Cornwall is a Celtic nation and a county of England. Strengthened by a series of 20th century revivals, traditional folk music has a popular following. It is accompanied by traditions of brass and silver bands, male voice choirs, classical, electronic and popular music.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cornwall:

Cornwall – ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall is also a royal duchy of the United Kingdom. It has an estimated population of half a million and it has its own distinctive history and culture.

The St Ives School refers to a group of artists living and working in the Cornish town of St Ives. The term is often used to refer to the 20th century groups which sprung up after the First World War around such artists as Borlase Smart, however there was considerable artistic activity there from the late 19th Century onwards.

Stargazy pie (sometimes called starrey gazey pie, stargazey pie and other variants) is a Cornish dish made of baked pilchards (or sardines), along with eggs and potatoes, covered with a pastry crust. Although there are a few variations with different fish being used, the unique feature of stargazy pie is fish heads (and sometimes tails) protruding through the crust, so that they appear to be gazing skyward.

The dish is traditionally held to have originated from the village of Mousehole in Cornwall and is traditionally eaten during the festival of Tom Bawcock's Eve to celebrate his heroic catch during a very stormy winter. According to the modern festival, which is combined with the Mousehole village illuminations, the entire catch was baked into a huge stargazy pie, encompassing seven types of fish and saving the village from starvation. The story of Bawcock was popularised by Antonia Barber's children's book The Mousehole Cat, which featured the stargazy pie. In 2007 contestant Mark Hix won the BBC's Great British Menu with a variant of the dish.

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